Method and system for sharing tangible objects

ABSTRACT

A system is configured to provide managed services for deployment of shared tangible objects by an operator. The system includes cloud resources provided by the system administrator. In one embodiment, the cloud resources include a device activation module configured to process information concerning the end users to determine whether activation of the shared object should be authorized for use by a selected end user; and a sharable-object command module configured to communicate signals employed in activating shared tangible objects for use when the end user is successfully authorized by the device activation module. The system includes an API provided by the system administrator. The API is configured to facilitate a communication of object activation signals from the sharable-object command module to allow the end user to use the shared tangible object. The same API is employed to facilitate the communication of object activation signals for different types of shared tangible objects that can be provided in different vertical markets.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority under 35U.S.C. § 120 to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/614,737,entitled “APPARATUS, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DEVICE ACTIVATION,” filedJun. 6, 2017, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to eachof U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/346,083, entitled“APPARATUS, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING AND MONITORING DEVICECHARGERS,” filed on Jun. 6, 2016, U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/358,598 entitled “APPARATUS, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DEVICEACTIVATION,” filed on Jul. 6, 2016, and U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/439,419, entitled “PORTABLE POWER SOLUTIONS,” filed on Dec.27, 2016. The disclosure of each of the preceding applications is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 1. Field of Invention

This invention relates generally to apparatus, systems and methods forsharing tangible objects. More specifically, at least one embodiment,relates to apparatus, systems and methods for individuals to locate,share and return a tangible object.

2. Discussion of Related Art

Modern society has widely embraced the concept of sharing objects andservices to reduce users' expenses and to more fully utilize resources.ZIPCAR and HUBWAY provide well known examples of shared transportationobjects in automobiles and bicycles, respectively. Where objects areshared they are generally located in a “common area,” that is, an areaaccessible to multiple users. Often, these common areas are open to thepublic such that anyone can access and utilize the shared object. Insome cases, ZIPCAR as one example, a user employs web or mobileapplication (“mobile app”) for the process of receiving a temporary useof the object in exchange for their payment.

Although the preceding and similar approaches are common today, eachtype of object requires the development of an intelligentcloud-connected hardware solution. Where a mobile app and/or cloudresources are utilized, each type of object requires the development ofsoftware to operate on the mobile device and/or remote servers for thatparticular application, respectively. Further, when multiple companiespursue the same market, each company expends resources to developproprietary hardware and software solutions for “their” objects. Thisredundant approach results in each provider hiring hardware and softwareengineers to develop the proprietary solution. The approach alsosignificantly increases costs and extends development cycles as eachprovider develops, tests, debugs and finally launches their proprietarysolution(s).

The traditional approach to object sharing also requires a substantialcapital investment by each object-sharing provider because the objectsmust be purchased before they can be outfitted for sharing. The approachcreates a significant risk because the broad consumer acceptancerequired to pay for the preceding investment in engineering and capitalequipment is not certain until well after roll out and launch of theobject sharing business.

FIG. 1 illustrates a flow diagram of a prior art process 100 by which acompany operating an object-sharing business develops and deploys theirown proprietary object-sharing system. The process 100 includes an actof obtaining an object for sharing 102, an act of developing andmanufacturing a proprietary “intelligent” hardware solution 104, an actof integrating the hardware solution in the object 106, an act ofdeveloping a proprietary cloud software solution to enable the object tocommunicate with and employ cloud-based services 108, an act of fullydeveloping a suite of cloud-based services employed with the sharedobject 110, an act of developing a native mobile application 112, an actof deploying the object in a common area for sharing 114 and an act ofproviding field support for the objects once deployed 116.

The process 100 is now described in greater detail. Typically, the actof obtaining an object for sharing 102 requires that the operatordirectly purchase or lease the objects to be shared. This approachnecessarily ties up a substantial amount of the capital and/ornegatively affects the cash flow of the company operating theobject-sharing business. The process 100 moves to the act of developingand manufacturing a proprietary “intelligent” hardware solution 104.Here, the company operating the object-sharing business must directlyhire product development employees or contractors to come up with acustom solution such that the shared objects are equipped to communicatewith local or remote systems, for example, communicate with a mobiledevice and/or cloud resources. The following are some elements that aredesigned and built from scratch by the company operating theobject-sharing business: design and manufacture of the electronic systemto add intelligence to the object, for example, electronic systemdesign/manufacture, printed circuit board (PCB) design/manufacture andfirmware development; and mechanical product design and manufacturing asrequired to physically integrate the electronic system in the object;and software design for communication between the custom hardwaresolution and any cloud software solution developed by the companyoperating the object sharing platform.

The process 100 moves from the act of developing and manufacturing aproprietary “intelligent” hardware solution for the object 104 to theact of integrating the proprietary hardware solution in the object 106.That is, for each object that is to be deployed the custom hardwaresolution must be physically integrated into the object. Theseinstallations can be labor intensive and fraught with their own uniquechallenges. This is especially true for a company that is operating anobject-sharing platform for the first time because they may have noprevious background in hardware development.

The process 100 next moves from the act of integrating the proprietaryhardware solution in the object 106 to the act of developing aproprietary cloud software solution to enable the object to communicatewith and employ cloud-based services 108. This act requires that thecompany operating the object-sharing business develop a cloud platformthat can be accessed to enable communication with the shared objects.This act may also require that the company operating the object-sharingplatform develop a corresponding cloud communication system that isembedded in the sharable object for communication with the cloud. Heretoo, a team of programming professionals is required at great costbecause individuals with the required skills are in such high demand.

The process 100 moves from the act of developing a proprietary cloudsoftware solution to enable the object to communicate with and employcloud-based services 108 to the act of fully developing the suite ofcloud-based services employed with the shared object 110. Here, theprocess 100 addresses the various cloud-based services required by thecompany operating the object-sharing business and their customers. Forexample, the cloud-based services can include user login credentials,payment information and data analytics. Again, the company operating theobject-sharing business is forced to create and integrate theseresources into the cloud-software solution they provide at act 108.

The process 100 moves from the act of fully developing a suite ofcloud-based services employed with the shared object 110 to the act ofdeveloping a native mobile application 112. The act 112 is required, forexample, where the object sharing system allows users to use theirmobile device to communicate with either or both of the cloud-basedservices and the shared object. Here, the company operating theobject-sharing business is forced to hire a mobile app developer. Thisprovides still another example of a resource that is likely not a partof the company's core skills, a resource that is hard to find and costlyto hire.

The process 100 then moves from the act of developing the native mobileapplication 112 to the act of deploying the shared object in a commonarea for sharing 114. The act of deploying 114 provides end users withaccess to the object for use. Because the act of deploying 114 occurssubsequent to the preceding acts illustrated in the process 100, thecompany operating the object-sharing business has already committed asubstantial investment to develop their proprietary platform beforeobtaining their first customer.

The process 100 continues after launch when it moves from the act ofdeploying the shared object in a common area for sharing 114 to the actof providing field support for the objects 116. Here, the operator mustbuild a team of field support personnel to maintain the objects in afully operational state available for use. The failure to do so createsserious customer issues, complaints and poor reviews by their customersthat are publicly shared. Ultimately, the operator's business can failif they do not quickly build-out their field support staff capable ofeffectively maintaining the shared objects.

In addition to the field support team, the preceding acts require thecreation and integration of a multi-disciplined hardware and softwareengineering team to address a host of engineering and design challenges.Given the high level of demand for these resources, finding and payingfor the correct skill set can be prohibitive.

The process 100 also demonstrates the serious financial commitment andfinancial risk that faces any company that wishes to enter the sharableeconomy with a sharable offering of its own. Before securing its firstcustomer the company faces a huge business risk. That is, there is nocertainty that the company will successfully execute all the design andfeature integration required before it launches. The preceding is thenfollowed by market risk. That is, will enough customers adopt theirsharable offering? Further, once the sharable objects are launched thecompany is faced with creating a field support workforce. Depending onthe geographic distribution of the shared objects, such workforces mayhave to be established across the country or even on a worldwide basis.Typically, this is the company's first experience with field supportcreating an even more daunting challenge.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Therefore, there is a need for systems, apparatus and methods for anobject-sharing managed service suitable for use with any of a variety ofobject-sharing vertical markets by any of a variety of object-sharingproviders. According to some embodiments, the approaches describedherein provide a universal and open platform for object sharing suitableto a wide variety of vertical markets. This allows variousobject-sharing providers to quickly develop and deploy their objectsincluding object-intelligence, cloud connectivity and powerful dataanalytics. The approaches described herein also eliminate much of theredundant effort performed by different companies as they enterdifferent object-sharing markets. According to further embodiments, theapproaches described herein include field support provided once theshared objects are deployed.

Some embodiments described herein allow the object-sharing provider toquickly and efficiently deliver objects to vertical markets that are newto them. In various embodiments, the cost and efficiency fordevelopment, rollout and launch is greatly improved because it isunnecessary for the provider to custom engineer the bulk of the hardwareand software required to deliver the object-sharing platform to the newmarket. According to further embodiments described herein, theobject-sharing managed service includes cloud-based services that can beutilized in the various object-sharing vertical markets serviced byvarious object-sharing companies, respectively. According to variousembodiments described herein, the object-sharing managed service allowsobject-sharing companies to quickly and efficiently add intelligence totheir products and to integrate their object-sharing infrastructure intoa previously developed cloud-platform (provided by a single systemadministrator) to facilitate the sharing of the objects.

According to various aspects, the systems, apparatus and methodsdescribed herein, provide an infrastructure that facilitates developmentof object-sharing platforms that allow users to locate, share and returnobjects located in a common area. In various embodiments, theobject-sharing infrastructure includes both cloud resources and softwaretools (for example, APIs) that facilitate communication between theobjects being shared and cloud resources. In further embodiments, thecloud-based services include data aggregation and data analytics. Theseservices are available to any object-sharing provider from the systemadministrator based on data concerning the set of objects that theyshare within their platform. Further, the system administrator canprovide the same set of cloud services and APIs to the differentobject-sharing providers in the same or different vertical markets.

According to various embodiments, the object sharing platforms can beemployed in a wide variety of object-sharing vertical markets includingtransportation markets (where the shared objects can include, forexample, cars or bicycles), battery charging markets (where the sharedobjects can include, for example, mobile device chargers or electricvehicle charging stations), furniture markets (where the shared objectscan include, for example, conference tables or study carrels) and officeequipment markets (where the shared objects can include, for example,photocopiers or color printers).

According to one aspect, a system is configured to provide managedservices for deployment of shared tangible objects by an operator, wherethe managed services are provided by a system administrator and includefield support of the shared tangible objects. The shared tangibleobjects are employed by end users. Further, the system administratordiffers from the operators. According to some embodiments, the systemincludes cloud resources provided by the system administrator. In oneembodiment, the cloud resources include an inventory management moduleconfigured to be remotely accessed by field support personnel, the fieldsupport personnel providing the inventory management module withinformation concerning a location and an operating condition of theshared tangible objects, the inventory management module accessible tothe operators; a device activation module configured to processinformation concerning the end users to determine whether activation ofthe shared object should be authorized for use by a selected end user;and a sharable-object command module configured to communicate signalsemployed in activating shared tangible objects for use when the end useris successfully authorized by the device activation module. According tothis embodiment, the system also includes a database coupled to theinventory management module where the database is configured to storethe location and operating condition of the shared tangible objectsprovided via the field support personnel.

According to a further embodiment, the system includes an API providedby the system administrator, the API configured to facilitate acommunication of object activation signals from the sharable-objectcommand module to at least one of a client device and the sharedtangible object to allow the end user to use the shared tangible object.According to a still further embodiment, the same API is employed tofacilitate the communication of object activation signals for differenttypes of shared tangible objects that can be provided in differentvertical markets. According to some further embodiments, the activationprocess and associated API facilitate bi-directional communicationbetween the sharable-object command module and either or both of theclient device and the shared tangible object.

According to another aspect, a method of providing cloud-based managedservices to support deployment of shared tangible objects is provided.The shared tangible objects are employed by end users. In someembodiments, the deployment is provided by operators including a firstoperator responsible for a first type of shared tangible object and asecond operator responsible for a second type of shared tangible object,the cloud-based managed services are provided by a system administratorand include field support of the shared tangible objects by fieldsupport personnel provided by the system administrator. According to afurther embodiment, the managed services include an inventory managementmodule and a database coupled to the inventory management module.According to one embodiment, the method includes an act of receiving, bythe inventory management module, information from the field supportpersonnel concerning, for each of the first type of shared tangibleobject and the second type of shared tangible object, respectively, atleast one of an operating condition of the shared tangible objects andlocation information of the shared tangible objects where theinformation is stored in the database.

In a further embodiment, the method also includes acts of maintaining,by the system administrator, the database with the at least one of theoperating condition and the location information provided by the fieldsupport personnel; permitting access to the inventory management moduleby the first operator responsible for the first type of shared tangibleobject; permitting access to the inventory management module by thesecond operator responsible for the second type of shared tangibleobject; providing, by the system administrator for each of the firsttype of shared tangible object and the second type of shared tangibleobject, respectively, a device activation module included in the cloudresources, the device activation module configured to processinformation concerning the end users to determine whether activation ofthe shared tangible objects should be authorized for use by a selectedend user; providing, by the system administrator for each of the firsttype of shared tangible object and the second type of shared tangibleobject, respectively, a sharable-object command module included in thecloud resources, the sharable-object command module configured tocommunicate signals employed in activating the shared tangible objectsfor use when an end user is successfully authorized by the deviceactivation module; and providing, by the system administrator for eachof the first type of shared tangible object and the second type ofshared tangible object, respectively, an API configured to facilitatecommunication between the shared tangible objects and thesharable-object command module, the communication includingcommunication of object activation signals.

According to one embodiment, the first operator and the second operatorare different than the system administrator responsible for thecloud-based managed services. According to a further embodiment, thesame API is employed to facilitate communication between the sharedtangible objects and the sharable object command module for a pluralityof different types of shared tangible objects. In still anotherembodiment, each of the plurality of different types of shared tangibleobjects are deployed in respective vertical markets that are differentfrom one another.

As used herein, “system administrator” refers to the party operating thecloud-based services that are provided to companies that are operatingan object-sharing business. One of skill in the art will recognize inview of the disclosure provided herein that a system administratorrefers to a party responsible for activities such as hardware design,software design, field support and cloud-services operation andmaintenance.

As used herein, “operator” refers to the party operating anobject-sharing business. As defined herein, operators are customers ofthe system administrator. As described herein, the system administratorprovides, depending on the embodiment, a suite of software that caninclude cloud-based software, embedded software and hardware solutions.End users are the customers of the operators who fill the needs of theend users for the shared tangible objects in the shared economy based onthe solutions provided to the operators by the system administrator.

As used herein, “type” when referring to a shared tangible object refersto a specific type of goods. Examples include a portable chargingsolution object-type, and an automobile object-type and an officefurniture object-type.

As used herein, “device activation” refers to placing a shared tangibleobject in an operational state in which it can be employed for itsintended use by an end user.

As used herein, “vertical market” refers to the business segment servedby the operators' enterprise. As will be apparent to one of ordinaryskill in the art based on the disclosure provided herein, an operatorserving a particular vertical market may provide one or more types ofshared tangible objects to their customers within that vertical market.Further, the shared tangible object may be a part of the primary goodsand/or services the operator provides in the vertical market.Alternatively, the shared tangible object may be included as anancillary offering the operator provides to their customers in thevertical market. For example, an educational institution is in educationas their vertical market. Where the educational institution is anoperator it can provide students with shared tangible objects such asportable power chargers or bicycles located around campus. These twotypes of objects provide only two examples among many possibilities.According to these examples, the system administrator provides theuniversity with a turnkey solution to allow the university toefficiently deploy the shared tangible object without the burden ofdeveloping the platform themselves. Further, the preceding demonstratesan example of an operator that is providing shared tangible objects asan ancillary offering to their customers who are purchasing theeducational service provided by the university.

In other embodiments, the system administrator provides an operator withthe platform and tools to launch an object-sharing platform in theoperator's vertical market. Here, for example, the system administratorcan deliver cloud-based solutions and embedded software to atransportation company (bike, scooter, car, etc.) for use in thetransportation company's primary offering in a transportation verticalmarket. According to this example, the solutions provided by the systemadministrator allow the transportation company to move directly forwardwith an offering for a shared transportation object. According to afurther embodiment, the system administrator offers the same, at leastin part, turnkey solution (cloud-based solutions and embedded software)to each of the university and the transportation company. The solutioncan be for the same type of shared tangible object or a different typeof tangible object. Thus, in some embodiments, the system administratorprovides solutions for the same type of shared tangible object acrossdifferent vertical markets. In a further embodiment, the systemadministrator provides solutions for different types of shared tangibleobjects in different vertical markets. In a still further embodiment,the system administrator provides solutions for the same type of sharedtangible objects in the same vertical market, for example, providingsolutions to operators competing in the same space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In thedrawings, each identical or nearly identical component that isillustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. Forpurposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in everydrawing. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a flow diagram of a prior art process;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of a process for developing anddeploying a shared tangible object in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of a process for developing anddeploying a shared tangible object in accordance with a furtherembodiment; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a system including a network operating environmentfor sharable objects.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This invention is not limited in its application to the details ofconstruction and the arrangement of components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention iscapable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carriedout in various ways. Also, the phraseology and terminology used hereinis for the purpose of description and should not be regarded aslimiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having,”“containing”, “involving”, and variations thereof herein, is meant toencompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well asadditional items.

The embodiments described herein facilitate abusiness-to-business-to-consumer approach, where a system administratorprovides a platform including a sophisticated backend and other softwaretools as a service to companies interested in launching a shared objectbusiness. The companies then deliver the shared tangible objects to endusers. Referring now to FIG. 2, a flow diagram of a process 200 fordeveloping and deploying a shared tangible object is illustrated inaccordance with one embodiment. The process 200 includes an act ofdeveloping a suite of cloud-based services to support differentobject-sharing markets 202, an act of developing a black box solution toadd intelligence to the shared tangible objects 204, an act ofdeveloping APIs to support communication between cloud-based servicesand the shared tangible objects deployed to serve differentobject-sharing markets 206, an act of making the APIs and black boxsolutions available to operators serving different object-sharingmarkets 208, an act of providing data aggregation and analytics to theoperators serving different object-sharing markets 210, and an act ofproviding field support for tangible objects deployed in differentobject-sharing markets 212. The “different object-sharing markets” asused here refers to different vertical markets.

According to various embodiments, the process 200 is performed by thesystem administrator and provided as a service to companies operating ashared tangible object platform. The act of developing a suite ofcloud-based services to support different object-sharing markets 202includes the development, by the system administrator, of a backend thatcan provide a suite of services for each operator (for example, the samesuite of services) regardless of the vertical object-sharing market theoperator is engaged in. Further, while the suite of services may includethe same overall software architecture and functional software modulesfor each operator, the system administrator also possesses theknowledge, experience and staff to provide solutions that arecustomized. According to one embodiment, the release of the suite ofcloud-based services is provided elsewhere in the process, for example,at the act of making the APIs and black box solutions available tooperators serving different object-sharing markets 208.

The functionality of the cloud-based services is explained in greaterdetail with reference to FIG. 4. Some examples of functional elementsthat can be utilized by operators in any vertical object-sharing marketinclude: end user management, object activation, advertising, dataanalytics, data storage, object location and condition tracking, andinventory management. According to various embodiments, the approachesdescribed herein are beneficial to operators in object-sharing marketsbecause the system administrator provides a fully developed suite ofcloud-based services that meet the operators' needs. Depending on theembodiment, the operator accesses the cloud-based services via a webapplication and/or a native mobile application.

The process 200 can optionally include the act of developing a black boxsolution to add intelligence to the shared tangible objects 204. In theillustrated embodiment, this act is shown as optional because a blackbox solution may not be need in some cases, or alternatively, theoperator may deliver the black box solution in some other situations. Asused herein, the “black box” or “black-box solution” generally refer toa solution that is integrated into the shared tangible objects providedto the market by the operator. The black box can be provided in one ofany number of forms depending on the embodiment and requirements of theapplication. For example, the solution may be solely a software solutionthat is provided to the operator. The operator can then integrate thecode into their shared tangible object before it is deployed. Thesolution can also include a hardware element in various embodiments. Asone example, the system administrator can design and build an electronicsystem including, for example, a processor and memory to allowinformation received by the shared tangible object to be processed andacted upon in response (for example, the shared tangible object can beunlocked by the black box so that the object is available for use).According to one embodiment, the black box solution includes acommunication system to allow the black box to receive and/or transmitinformation wirelessly, for example, via a BLUETOOTH protocol (includingBLE as one option), Wi-Fi or cellular networks.

According to further embodiments, the black box is in form of theactivation device 700 shown in FIG. 7 of U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/358,598 incorporated herein by reference and as describedtherein in accordance to various embodiments. According to someembodiments, the system administrator provides the same black boxsolution for a plurality of different types of shared tangible objects.In still another embodiment, each of the plurality of different types ofshared tangible objects is deployed in respective vertical markets thatare different from one another. Thus, in some embodiments, the systemadministrator provides a universal black box that delivers a turn-keysolution to the different operators who are operating in differentmarkets.

According to still another embodiment, the system administrator providesthe operator with a micro-chip complete with firmware such that theshared tangible object is suitable for use with the cloud-based serviceswhen the micro-chip is integrated into the object. According to oneembodiment, the micro-chip is an off the shelf device (for example, amicrocontroller) with firmware developed by the system administrator fora particular application. According to another embodiment, themicro-chip is provided as an application specific integrated circuit(ASIC) developed by the system administrator for the application.According to some other embodiments, the system administrator developsfirmware to provide a universal micro-chip that delivers a turn-keysolution to the different operators who are operating in the differentsharable-object markets.

In general, when shared tangible objects are deployed they are eachuniquely identified to provide an ability to track location, use andcondition of the object. Thus, functionally the black box solution mayalso include a form of identification for each object. This can beprovided by any of the preceding described approaches that provide aunique identification for each tangible object. In a further embodiment,the black box includes a network MAC address, an RFID tag or other itemsuitable to uniquely identify each tangible object.

The process 200 also includes developing APIs to support communicationbetween cloud-based services and the shared tangible objects deployed toserve different object-sharing markets 206. Here, the systemadministrator develops the API or APIs necessary for remote access tothe cloud-based services developed, for example, at the act 202.Depending on the embodiment, these APIs are employed by the operatorand/or end users to communicate via the cloud to one or more element ofthe cloud-based resources provided by the system administrator.According to one embodiment, the APIs can be a set of APIs for sendingand receiving data. Because the APIs are made available as part of theservice provided by the system administrator, this act helps provide aturn-key solution for operators of object-sharing platforms in variousvertical markets. Further, in some embodiments, the same APIs areemployed for object-types in each of the various vertical markets.

As is seen from the preceding, the bulk of the technical solutions areprovided by the system administrator. Thus, the availability of thecloud-based services, black-box solutions, APIs and any other hardwareand software resources provided by the system administrator allowsoperators to focus on their market and their customer-facing challenges.

The process moves to the act making the APIs and black box solutionsavailable to operators serving different object-sharing markets 208.According to some embodiments, a common set of API's and black boxsolutions are made available by the system administrator at act 208.According to these embodiments, these common API and black box solutionsare suitable for use by operators serving the different object-sharingmarkets. In a further embodiment, these features are made availablealong with cloud-based services that are suitable for use by operatorsserving the different object-sharing markets. The result is a full setof turn-key solutions that allow companies interested in entering any ofa number of vertical object-sharing markets to quickly and costeffectively develop and deploy their own object sharing solution tocustomers.

With the preceding solutions implemented, the operators in differentobject-sharing markets can also receive additional resources andservices provided by the system administrator. For example, the cloudresources can include a variety of resources that are used by operatorsto monitor results and improve performance of their shared tangibleobject platform. The act of providing data aggregation and analytics tothe operators serving different object-sharing markets 210 is oneexample. According to these embodiments, the cloud-based services allowand operator to view statistics concerning the use of shared tangibleobjects, customer feedback and the reliability and performance of theshared tangible objects over time. As one example, use-based statisticscan allow the operator to optimize a deployment of the shared tangibleobjects.

The system administrator can also provide additional resources tooperators because they have experience in manage shared tangible objectsin disparate geographic locations. For example, a fleet oftransportation sharables will require service on a periodic basis and inemergencies. Because the system administrator is assisting a widevariety of object sharing operators, they likely have considerableexperience regarding field support. In some cases they may even havepersonnel trained in the particular type of shared tangible object thatan operator has deployed. Thus, the act of providing field support fortangible objects deployed in different object-sharing markets 212 isincluded in the process 200 in accordance with the illustratedembodiment. This act illustrates an example where the systemadministrator can provide resources that directly eliminate the need forthe operator to hire and train their own additional staff.

Further, in accordance with various embodiments, the process 200includes an act of obtaining the tangible object for sharing performedby the system administrator. As one example, the system administratormay already have a supply chain for the type of object the operator isinterested in sharing. For example, the system administrator may alreadybe purchasing or leasing the same type of object for other operators inthe same vertical market. A new operator in that vertical market cansimply approach the system administrator for the turn-key solutionsprovided by the above described embodiments and ask that the systemadministrator also provide the shared tangible objects for deployment.The system administrator provides these tangible objects equipped withthe black box, if necessary, for integration of the tangible objectsinto the platform including cloud services provided by the systemadministrator, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

Portable power chargers provide one example in which a systemadministrator can provide the shared tangible objects in a deploymentready state to multiple different operators. The operators in thisexample may be different universities, airports or bars to name just afew possibilities. The operator receives the shared tangible objects andcan deploy them as they see fit on their premises. The systemadministrator activates the cloud-based services for that operator andthose objects and the system is operational.

In addition to the preceding, the process 200 can also include adevelopment and release of web applications and/or native mobileapplications that allow the operators, end users, field supportpersonnel and the manufacturers of the shared tangible objects toremotely access the cloud services as described in more detail withreference to FIG. 4.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a flow diagram of a process 300 for developingand deploying a shared tangible object is illustrated in accordance witha further embodiment. According to this embodiment, the process 300 isillustrated from the perspective of an operator of an object-sharingbusiness. According to the illustrated embodiment, the process 300includes an act of integrating the black box in the object and using theAPI(s) provided by the system administrator 302, an act of deploying theobject in a common area for sharing 304, an act of receiving dataaggregation and analytics provided by the system administrator 306, andact of receiving field support provided by the system administrator 308.

According to the illustrated embodiment, the process 300 begins at theact of integrating the black box in the object and using the API(s)provided by the system administrator 302. Here, the system administratoreither provides a newly created solution for the operator or delivers apreviously prepared solution to add intelligence to the shared tangibleobject. Depending on the embodiment, the “intelligence” referred to herecan provide the object with technology that allows the object to provideany one of, each of, a combination of or other combinations of thefollowing attributes: a) allows the object to be uniquely identified; b)allows the object to wirelessly receive and/or transmit information; c)allows the object to communicate status information, for example,currently in use, requires service, etc.; d) allows the object'sgeographic location to be identified; e) allows the object to changefrom a “locked” state to an “unlocked” state, that is, deviceactivation; and f) allows the object to communicate data and statisticsconcerning the nature and type of use the object has seen.

According to some embodiments, the intelligence provides the object withan ability to communicate with the cloud-based services provided by thesystem administrator. According to one embodiment, the communication isa direct communication that does not involve the transmission ofinformation via a user's mobile device. According to another embodiment,the communication is an indirect communication such that information isfirst communicated to a user's mobile device before all or a portion ofthe information is communicated to the cloud-based services.Communication of information from the cloud-based services to the objectcan also employ the user's device. According to further embodiments, theblack box facilitates both direct and indirect communication between theobject and the cloud-based services.

According to some embodiments, the operator of the object-sharingbusiness participates with the system administrator in the design of theblack-box solution. Regardless, at act 302, the operator eitherintegrates the black-box solution in the tangible objects or contractsto have the integration completed by a third party in accordance withthis embodiment. The actual integration process will vary depending onthe embodiment based on the form of the black-box solution that isemployed, for example, as described in various ones of theabove-examples. In an alternate embodiment, the system administratordelivers a deployment-ready shared tangible object to the operator asdescribed above with reference to FIG. 2.

With the black-box solution integrated in the object, the process 300moves to the act of deploying the object in a common area for sharing304. Here, the objects are made available for end users to use asappropriate for the object-type that is deployed. According to oneembodiment, the common area is a location that is open to the public.According to another embodiment, the common area is a location that isnot open to the general public but is accessible to a group of potentialusers. A university or private school that deploys portable chargers isone example of a private location that is accessible to a group of userswho are interested in sharing a tangible object, the portable powerchargers.

According to one embodiment, the act of deploying the object in a commonarea for sharing 304 is performed by the system administrator. Thisapproach provides additional value to the operator.

With the objects deployed for use, the process 300 moves to the act ofreceiving data aggregation and analytics provided by the systemadministrator 306 in accordance with the illustrated embodiment. Thepreceding is one benefit provided to operators by the approachesdescribed herein. Here, the operator is able to access cloud-basedresources operated and maintained by the system administrator. Forexample, information concerning use-data, object status, etc. iscollected using cloud-based resources and then stored on databasesoperated by the administrator and accessible to the operator via thecloud. According to further embodiments, the stored data is analyzed forperformance metrics, usage trends, etc. all available to the operatorfor the objects that they've deployed. According to a furtherembodiment, the operator is able to utilize the cloud-based resources togenerate custom reports and analytics.

Another benefit to operators is provided at the act of receiving fieldsupport provided by the system administrator 308 included in the process300 according to the illustrated embodiment. Here, the operator utilizesstaffing provided by the system administrator to handle operationalproblems and user concerns regarding the shared tangible objects thatare deployed as a part of the operator's object-sharing business.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a system 400 including a network operatingenvironment for sharable objects is illustrated. Access to variousportions of the system 400 via the network is available to a pluralityof different entities. In general and according to various embodiments,the system is utilized by end users 402, one or more companies operatingan object-sharing business (i.e., operators) 404, and a provider ofmanaged cloud-service and a sharables platform (i.e., systemadministrator) 406. According to further embodiments, the system 400 canalso be utilized by field support personnel 408 and manufacturers ofshared tangible objects 410. The system 400 allows one or more sharedtangible objects 412 to be deployed and managed for a shared use by theend users 402.

The system 400 includes services 414 that are accessible to the endusers 402, operators 404, system administrator 406, field supportpersonnel 408, manufacturers 410 and shared tangible objects 412 via oneor more networks (not illustrated). In the illustrated embodiment, theservices 414 include a sharable object activation module 416, an enduser settings module 418, a device location module 420, a deviceactivation module 422, a policy engine 424, an end user managementmodule 426, an advertising module 428, a device analytics module 430, aninventory management module 432, a field support task module 434, afield support payment module 436, a field support communication module438, a manufacturer's sharable-object test and registration module 440,a manufacturer's sharable object analytics dashboard 442, a sharableobject data collection module 444 and a sharable object command module446.

The services 414 also include data storage 450 which can be in the formof data stores accessible to one or more of the entities illustrated inFIG. 4. According to some embodiments, the data storage includes one ormore databases. The databases can store user identification information(for example, user IDs and passwords), payment information, digitalcontent, other information associated with the user such as their socialnetwork/contacts and/or other preferences, and information concerningdigital content providers, host-facilities where shared tangible objectsare deployed and the objects deployed by the operators. Depending on theembodiment, the databases can include any of a relational database, anobject-oriented database, an unstructured database, or other database.Further, the databases can be included in any aspect of a memory system,such as in RAM, ROM or disc, and may also be separately stored on one ormore dedicated data servers included in the services 414.

In one embodiment, the data storage 450 can be centralized for all themodules included in the services 414. In another embodiment, at leastsome of the data storage is included in one or more of the modules. Forexample, modules such as the end user settings module 418, the policyengine 424 and the user management module 426 include data storageaccording to one embodiment. In a further embodiment, the sharableobject test and registration module 440, the sharable object analyticsdashboard 442 and the sharable object data collection module 444 includedata storage. In addition, the data stores can be secured such that afirst entity-type such as an end user is only able to access the datastores that include their personal information. In a further embodiment,access is restricted such that an operator has access to a first datastore concerning the shared tangible objects 412 under their controlwhile the system administrator has access to the first data store andother data stores concerning shared tangible objects 412 deployed forother operators.

As should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of thedisclosure provided herein, the services 414 can include other servicesand/or resources and combinations of services and/or resources differentthan those described above depending upon the embodiment. As oneexample, functionality provided by the sharable object analyticsdashboard 442 and the sharable object data collection module can beprovided in a single “manufacturer focused” module included in theservices 414. As another example, functionality provided by the policyengine 424 and the user management module 426 can be included in asingle module included in the services 414.

It will also be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in viewof the disclosure provided herein that elements of the services 414 cancommunicate with one another to share information. For example,information provided by the sharable object activation module 416 can beemployed by the sharable object command module 446.

In general, the system 400 operates to allow end users to activate thesharables objects 412. According to some embodiments, the end user is inpossession of a client device, for example, a portable electronic devicesuch as a smart phone or tablet that is employed in the process ofactivating the sharable tangible object 412 for use.

According to some embodiments, the sharable object activation module 416is accessed by an end user 402 to provide the services 414 with theinformation needed to authorize and/or authenticate the end user beforethe sharable object 412 is activated for use by the end user 402.Depending on the embodiment, the sharable object activation module isaccessed using a web application or a mobile application. The end usersettings module 418 is also accessed by the end user 402 in a similarfashion. The end user settings module 418 can be employed by the enduser 402 to establish a user identification, login credentials andpayment settings specific to the user as some examples.

According to another embodiment, the end user establishes an end useraccount 448 with the company operating the sharables business using anidentity established with another software application, for example,using a single sign-on (SSO) authentication 449. For example, the enduser can use a single sign-on authentication 449 established with theirFacebook account to sign into the sharables platform and access sharedtangible objects 412.

The device location module 420 can be employed by users to locate thenearest sharable tangible object 412 of the type desired by the user.Accordingly, the device location module 420 can employ GPS data providedby the end user's client device to identify a location of the sharableobjects 412 and inform the end user 402. In one embodiment, theinformation is provided in a graphical format such as a 2D or 3D maprendered in a display included in the client device.

The device activation module 422 is employed to process informationprovided by the user in substantially real-time during an authenticationprocess during which the end user credentials, etc. are evaluated todetermine whether they should be authorized to access the sharedtangible object 412. According to one embodiment, the device activationmodule 422 receives information provided by the end user andauthenticates the information against information stored in the datastorage 450. Depending on the embodiment, the end user 402 can accessthe device activation module 422 via a web application or a mobileapplication. According to other embodiments, additional elements of theservices 414 are employed by the device activation module 422 during theend-user authorization and device activation process. The policy engine424 provides one example of the preceding.

The policy engine 424 allows the operator to establish a set of termsunder which the end users 402 can access the shared tangible object 412for use. For example, depending on the embodiment, the terms can addressany of the following alone or in combination, or other terms: a cost foruse of the shared tangible object 412; a time period for use of theshared tangible object 412; applicability and/or amount of a late feeapplicable to a late return of the shared tangible object 412 followingthe period for use; and a requirement for collateral to access theshared tangible object 412 for use. According to one embodiment, thedevice activation module 420 communicates with the policy engine 424when authorizing the end user before allowing the sharable object 412 tobe accessed for use.

According to one embodiment and provided that the end user 402 issuccessfully authorized, the device activation module 422 provides anactivation signal that is communicated to the client device inpossession of the end user 402. In a further embodiment, the clientdevice is in communication with the sharable object 412 and transmitsthe device activation signal to the sharable object 412. According toanother embodiment, the device activation module 422 provides anactivation signal that is directly communicated to the sharable object412 provided the end user 402 is successfully authorized.

According to some embodiments, the user management module 426 isemployed by the operator 404 to monitor other aspects of the behavior ofthe end user 402, for example, compliance with the terms included in thepolicy engine 424. The user management module 426 can provide additionalrequirements or restrictions on one or more end users 402, for example,as a result of theft or loss of previously shared objects 412. Accordingto one embodiment, the user management module 426 is administered by theoperator 406 based on use data received by the services 414.

The advertising module 428 is include in some embodiments, to provide aplatform for maintaining and sharing dynamic content (any of text,images, audio and video) with end users 402 during a process ofactivating a sharable tangible object 412. These approaches aredescribed in detail in accordance to various embodiments in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/358,598 incorporated by reference.In some embodiments, a sponsor and/or content owner can provide theservices with content that is distributed to end user client devices inexchange for an activation of the sharable objects 412. According to oneembodiment, the end user is allowed to access and use the sharabletangible object 412 at no cost when they engage with content distributedby the services 414.

According to one embodiment, the device analytics module 430 provides ananalysis of the performance metrics concerning the sharable objectbusinesses operated by one or more operators. Further, the performancefor a single operator and a single type of shared tangible object or asingle type of shared tangible object at a specific a location can beevaluated. The performance metrics can be use-based, financially-based,a combination of the preceding or based on other data available with theinformation stored by the services 414. Utilization metrics provide oneform of analytics that can assist the system administrator, operatorsand manufacturers in understanding how to improve performance andmaximize the efficiency of an object-sharing business. A return oninvestment is another metric that can be provided by the deviceanalytics module 430 and utilized by the system administrator and/oroperators and manufacturers.

According to a further embodiment, the inventory management module 432provides the system administrator, the operator and the field supportpersonnel with an ability to monitor and update the location andcondition of shared tangible objects that are deployed. For example, thesystem administrator can work with the operator on a deployment of theshared tangible objects 412, and depending on the embodiment, either theadministrator or the operator can update the inventory management module432 to reflect the newly deployed objects 412. Once the objects 412 aredeployed, the field support personnel can provide updates to thecondition of the shared tangible objects 412 based on their first-handreview of the objects in the field. According to one embodiment, thesystem administrator updates status information using the inventorymanagement module 432 based on feedback received from end users.

According to a still further embodiment, the services 414 include afield support task module 434. According to one embodiment, the fieldsupport task module 434 is employed by the system administrator todefine, track and assign tasks to the field support personnel. Thesystem administrator employs the field support task module 434 to assignwork orders to field support personnel for any of a variety of tasks.The scope of the tasks can include routine maintenance performed on theshared tangible objects 412, upgrades performed on the objects 412,troubleshooting performed on the objects 412 and repair or replacementof the objects 412.

According to one embodiment, the field support payment module 436 isemployed by the system administrator to administer and execute paymentsto the field support personnel. In one embodiment, the field supportpersonnel are employees of the system administrator. According toanother embodiment, the field support personnel are contracted by thesystem administrator. According to either embodiment, the systemadministrator provides field support to the operator as a paid service.This service can be provided to multiple operators in the same ordifferent locations and/or vertical markets. The service can also beprovided by the system administrator to the same operator at multipledifferent geographic locations and/or vertical markets.

According to some embodiments, the field support communication module438 is employed by the system administrator to provide real-timecommunication between the administrator and the field support personnel.The ability to communicate in substantially real time is particularlyadvantageous in situations that require a rapid response, for example, asystem outage or other significant disruption in the availability of theshared tangible objects 412. The field support communication module canalso provide a log of the communications, for example, dates, times andcontent of correspondence between the system administrator and the fieldsupport personnel. According to one embodiment, the field supportcommunication module 438 supports at least one of email communicationand text communication. According to another embodiment, the fieldsupport communication module also supports voice communication, forexample, voice over internet protocol (VoIP). According to a stillfurther embodiment, the field support communication module 438 supportsat least one of video sharing and image sharing.

According to the illustrated embodiment, the services 414 also includeservices employed by manufacturers of shared tangible objects 412. Thesharable object test and registration module 440 provides a firstexample. According to various embodiments, the sharable object test andregistration module 440 is employed by the manufacturer of the sharedtangible objects 412 to provide each of the shared objects with a uniqueidentification for use when deployed in an object sharing platform andalso to commission the shared object before it is deployed. Depending onthe embodiment, the testing performed to commission the objects 412 caninclude system and/or component level testing of the operationsperformed by the objects 412 when in normal use. The testing performedto commission the device can also include a test of the deviceactivation process to confirm that the shared object 412 is in thecorrect operational state (for example, locked-out to prevent use untilactivated and placed in the operational state once activated). Accordingto another embodiment, all or a portion of the preceding testing andregistration is performed by the system administrator.

According to one embodiment, the unique identification that isestablished for the shared tangible objects 412 during the registrationprocess is employed in the services 414 to allow for features describedherein. For example, the identification can provide a way to associate aspecific object from among the shared objects 412 with location, use andstatus data tracked and stored via the services 414.

The sharable object analytics dashboard 442 is employed to provide themanufacturer with performance statistics concerning shared tangibleobjects 412 that they've commissioned. According to an alternateembodiment, the operator of an object-sharing business can opt out ofallowing the manufacturer to access these statistics, for example, forprivacy reasons.

The sharable object data collection module 444 is employed to providedetailed information concerning device performance in accordance withone embodiment. For example, where the shared objects 412 are portablepower chargers, the data can include data regarding the output voltageand current over time through one or more uses.

In accordance with the illustrated embodiment, the sharable objectcommand module 446 is included in the services 414 provided by thesystem administrator to the operators of the object-sharing businesses.According to one embodiment, the sharable object command module 446 isemployed to communicate the device activation signal that places theshared object 412 in an operational state. Depending on the embodiment,the device activation signal is communicated to at least one of theshared tangible objects 412 and the end user's 402 mobile device.According to these embodiments, the sharable object command module 446receives input concerning a status of the authentication and/orauthorization process performed using the device activation module 422(described above).

In general, the services 414 are accessed “over-the-cloud” by theplurality of entities with network access. The network can includeeither or both of local-area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs),wireless communication, wired communication and may include theInternet. According to a further embodiment, the network provides accessto the services 414 to the end users 402, the operators 404, the systemadministrator 406, field support personnel 408 and the manufacturers ofshared tangible objects 410. Depending on the embodiment, this caninclude access by any of the preceding to one or more remote devices,servers, application resource management and/or data storage systemsincluding in the services 414. For example, the network can allowcommunication between any of the end user client devices, the sharedtangible objects 412, with one another and/or with any of the otherresources illustrated in FIG. 4. Communication can occur using any ofWi-Fi networks, Bluetooth communication, cellular networks andpeer-to-peer networks available either alone or in combination with oneanother via the network. Depending on the embodiment, the network may beany type and/or form of network known to those of ordinary skill in theart capable of supporting the operations described herein. Thus, othercommunication protocols and topologies can also be implemented inaccordance with various embodiments.

In some embodiments, the system administrator provides web applicationsand/or native mobile applications as needed by the end users 402, theoperators 404, the system administrator 406, the field support personnel408 and the manufacturers of shared tangible objects 410 when accessingthe services 414 over-the-cloud. In one embodiment, the systemadministrator develops a common set of web applications and/or nativemobile applications that are employed by the preceding entities withdifferent object-types and in different vertical markets. The precedingcan provide a universal solution employed by different operators acrossthese markets.

According to various embodiments, the client devices employed with thesystem 400 can be, for example, any of a portable device such as atablet computer, a hand-held computer, a personal digital assistant, ane-reader, a mobile telephone, a camera, a smart phone, and enhancegeneral packet radio service (EGPRS) mobile phone, a media player, anavigation device, an e-mail device, a game console, a laptop computer,or a combination of any two or more of these processing devices and/orother processing devices.

Depending on the embodiment, a client device can include a generalpurpose processor (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a memory, adisplay (for example, a touchscreen) and additional processing devices,for example, a communication module. The client device may have aplurality of input/output interfaces and devices such as a mouse, ajoystick, a touchscreen, a keyboard, a camera, an inertial sensingsystem, a microphone, etc. Further, the client device may include anyone or any combination of peripheral devices, for example, a positioningsystem, an RF transceiver, a motion sensor, a light sensor, a proximitysensor, one or more additional sensors, communications hardware and anaudio including the speaker and/or annunciators. In various embodiments,any of the preceding peripheral devices, alone or in combination withother peripheral devices or other devices generally, can be employed asan input/output interface.

According to some embodiments, the client devices can display one ormore graphical user interfaces to provide the user access to varioussystem objects (for example, a display object) and for conveyinginformation to the user. A non-exhaustive list of examples of suchsystem objects include device functions for tools used to: establish auser account; interact with digital content; communicate with theservices; communicate with the shared tangible objects 412; communicatewith other client devices; and presentation of analytics, alerts, eventsor other visual references graphically represented. Accordingly, one ora plurality of icons can be rendered for viewing and/or selection in thedisplay via either a touch input, or other input such as a cursorrendered in the display, a voice input or a motion input sensed by theclient device.

According to some embodiments, tools are provided to end users in adigital content distribution and device activation application that theuser downloads to the user's mobile device. For example, the applicationcan be downloaded from an application server included in the services414. According to some embodiments, the application server is hosted bya third party service, for example, in an application store or otherdigital application distribution platform from which other applicationscan also be accessed and downloaded (well-known current examples includethe iOS App Store operated by Apple, the Amazon App store and GooglePlay). In one embodiment, the application includes a web-application toallow can activation of a shared tangible object using any device with aweb browser. According to this embodiment, the application server allowsdistribution of an application that does not include a nativeapplication built for a specific operating system. Thus, the applicationcan be employed across a much wider range of devices.

While embodiments are described in which operators deliver sharedtangible objects in different vertical markets, in other embodiments,the system administrator can provide the same or similar solution to twooperators in the same vertical market. For example, the systemadministrator can provide solutions employed by two different operatorswho provided their customers bicycles as the shared object.

The processes described and process diagrams provided herein can includethe same steps in a different order, the addition of steps or theelimination of certain steps. In addition, acts or portions thereof maybe performed simultaneously. For example, the act of developing a blackbox solution to add intelligence to the shared tangible objects 204 andthe act of developing APIs to support communication between cloud-basedservices and the shared tangible objects deployed to serve differentobject-sharing markets 206 can be performed together in accordance withone embodiment. As another example, the act of developing a suite ofcloud-based services to support different object-sharing markets 202 andthe act of providing data aggregation and analytics to the operatorsserving different object-sharing markets 210 can be performed together.

Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of thisinvention, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications,and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Suchalterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part ofthis disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings areby way of example only.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of providing cloud-based managedservices including resources to support deployment of shared tangibleobjects by operators including a first operator responsible for a firstplurality of shared tangible objects and a second operator responsiblefor a second plurality of shared tangible objects, the first operatordifferent than the second operator, the cloud-based managed servicesprovided by a system administrator different than at least one of thefirst operator and the second operator, the method comprising:providing, by the system administrator for each of the first pluralityof shared tangible objects and the second plurality of shared tangibleobjects, respectively, a sharable-object command module included in theresources, the sharable-object command module configured to communicatesignals employed in activating any of the first plurality of sharedtangible objects and the second plurality of shared tangible objects,respectively, for use when an end user is successfully authorized to usea selected shared tangible object included in either one of the firstplurality of shared tangible objects and the second plurality of sharedtangible objects; and providing, by the system administrator for each ofthe first plurality of shared tangible objects and the second pluralityof shared tangible objects, respectively, an API configured tofacilitate communication between the selected shared tangible object andthe sharable-object command module, the communication includingcommunication of an object activation signal.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the cloud-based managed services include an inventory managementmodule and a database coupled to the inventory management module, andwherein the method further comprises acts of: receiving, by theinventory management module, information from field support personnelconcerning, for each of the first plurality of shared tangible objectsand the second plurality of shared tangible objects respectively, atleast one of an operating condition of the shared tangible objects andlocation information of the shared tangible objects, the informationstored in the database; maintaining, by the system administrator, thedatabase with the at least one of the operating condition and thelocation information provided by the field support personnel; permittingaccess to the inventory management module by the first operatorresponsible for the first plurality of shared tangible objects; andpermitting access to the inventory management module by the secondoperator responsible for the second plurality of shared tangibleobjects.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising providing, by thesystem administrator, the field support personnel for field support ofat least one of the first plurality of shared tangible objects and thesecond plurality of shared tangible objects.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the system administrator includes a first business entity,wherein the first operator includes a second business entity, whereinthe second operator includes a third business entity; and wherein thefirst entity is different than both the second entity and the thirdentity.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of sharedtangible objects includes a first type of tangible object, wherein thesecond plurality of shared tangible objects include a second type oftangible object, and wherein the first type of tangible object isdifferent than the second type of tangible object.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, further comprising providing the first plurality of sharedtangible objects in a first vertical market; and providing the secondplurality of shared tangible objects in a second vertical market, thesecond vertical market different than the first vertical market.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, wherein one of the first vertical market and thesecond vertical market includes a market for device charging.
 8. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising: barring the second operator fromaccessing information concerning the at least one of the operatingcondition and the location information of the first type of sharedtangible object, and barring the first operator from accessinginformation concerning the at least one of the operating condition andthe location information of the second type of shared tangible object.9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing, by the systemadministrator, a policy engine included in the cloud-based managedservices and accessible to each of the first operator and the secondoperator; permitting the first operator to employ the policy engine toestablish a first set of terms under which the users access the firsttype of shared tangible object for use, and permitting the secondoperator to employ the policy engine to establish a second set of termsunder which the users access the second type of shared tangible objectfor use.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, by thesystem administrator for each of the first plurality of shared tangibleobjects and the second plurality of shared tangible objects,respectively, a device activation module included in the resources, thedevice activation module configured to process information concerningthe end users to determine whether activation of the shared tangibleobjects should be authorized for use by a selected end user.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the device activation module includes afirst device activation module for the first plurality of sharedtangible objects and a second device activation module for the secondplurality of shared tangible objects, and wherein the method furthercomprises: configuring, by the system administrator, the policy enginefor independent use with each of the first device activation module andthe second device activation module.
 12. A method of providingcloud-based managed services to support deployment of shared tangibleobjects by operators including a first operator responsible for a firstplurality of shared tangible object and a second operator responsiblefor a second plurality of shared tangible object, the cloud-basedmanaged services provided by a system administrator, the managedservices including an inventory management module, the shared tangibleobjects employed by end users, the method comprising: receiving, by theinventory management module, information from the field supportpersonnel concerning, for each of the first plurality of shared tangibleobject and the second plurality of shared tangible object, respectively,at least one of an operating condition of the shared tangible objectsand location information of the shared tangible objects; permittingaccess to the inventory management module by the first operatorresponsible for the first plurality of shared tangible object;permitting access to the inventory management module by the secondoperator responsible for the second plurality of shared tangible object;providing, by the system administrator for each of the first pluralityof shared tangible object and the second plurality of shared tangibleobject, respectively, a sharable-object command module included in thecloud resources, the sharable-object command module configured tocommunicate signals employed in activating the shared tangible objectsfor use when an end user is successfully authorized to use the sharedtangible object; and providing, by the system administrator for each ofthe first plurality of shared tangible object and the second pluralityof shared tangible object, respectively, an API configured to facilitatecommunication between the shared tangible objects and thesharable-object command module, the communication includingcommunication of object activation signals, wherein the first operatorand the second operator are different than the system administratorresponsible for the cloud-based managed services.
 13. The method ofclaim 12, further comprising including a database in the managedservices, the database configured to store the operating condition ofthe shared tangible objects and the location information of the sharedtangible objects.
 14. A system configured to provide managed servicesfor deployment of a plurality of shared tangible objects including afirst type of shared tangible object deployed by a first operator and asecond type of shared tangible object by deployed by a second operator,the managed services provided by a system administrator, the systemadministrator different than both the first operator and the secondoperator, the plurality of shared tangible objects employed by aplurality of end users, the system comprising: cloud resources providedby the system administrator, the cloud resources including: a policyengine accessible to each of the first operator and the second operator,the policy engine configured to allow the first operator to establish afirst set of terms under which the plurality of end users access thefirst type of shared tangible object for use, and to allow the secondoperator to establish a second set of terms under which the plurality ofend users access the second type of shared tangible object for use; aninventory management module configured to be accessible to the operatorsto identify at least one of an operating condition and a location of theplurality of shared tangible objects; a device activation moduleconfigured to process information concerning the end users to determinewhether activation of a selected one of the plurality of shared tangibleobjects should be authorized for use when selected by an end userincluded in the plurality of end users; and a sharable-object commandmodule configured to communicate an object activation signal employed inactivating the selected one of the plurality of shared tangible objectsfor use when the end user is successfully authorized by the deviceactivation module, the object activation signal communicated to a mobiledevice in possession of the end user; and wherein the plurality ofshared tangible objects are configured to be employed by a plurality ofdifferent end users at different times, respectively, wherein the secondtype of shared tangible object is different than the first type ofshared tangible object, wherein the object activation signal include afirst object activation signal communicated from the sharable-objectcommand module to the mobile device, and wherein a second objectactivation signal is communicated from the mobile device to the selectedone of the plurality of shared tangible object following a receipt ofthe first object activation signal by the mobile device.
 15. The systemof claim 14, wherein an API is provided by the system administrator, theAPI configured to facilitate a communication of the object activationsignal from the sharable-object command module to at least one of themobile device and the selected shared tangible object to allow the enduser to use the selected shared tangible object, wherein the API isconfigured to facilitate communication of the object activation signalto the mobile device.
 16. The system according to claim 15, wherein theAPI is a first API, and wherein a second API is provided by the systemadministrator, the second API configured to facilitate a receipt ofauthentication information for the end user via credentials alreadyestablished for the end user with the operator.
 17. The system of claim15, wherein an API is provided by the system administrator, the APIconfigured to facilitate transmission of information between theselected shared tangible object and the sharable-object command moduleindependent of the mobile device.
 18. The system of claim 14, whereinthe system administrator provides field support of the plurality ofshared tangible objects, the field support personnel providing theinformation concerning the at least one of the operating condition andthe location of the plurality of shared tangible objects.
 19. The systemof claim 14, wherein the first type of shared tangible object isprovided in a first vertical market, and wherein the second type ofshared tangible object is provided in a second vertical market, thesecond vertical market different than the first vertical market.
 20. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein the first set of terms and the second set ofterms for each of the first type of shared tangible object and thesecond type of shared tangible object, respectively, include at leastone of a cost for use of the shared tangible object, a time period foruse of the shared tangible object; applicability of a late fee to areturn of the shared tangible object following the period for use; and arequirement for collateral to access the shared tangible object for use.